Achievement and standardsGrade: 3
Grade for sixth form: 3
Students' attainment is below average when they enter the school in Year 7 and remains below average at the end of Key Stages 3 and 4, and the sixth form. This represents satisfactory achievement in the main school and the sixth form.
Standards at GCSE reached an all-time peak in 2007 with 48% of students gaining five or more grades at grade C or above. Results were particularly good in ICT and art with 100% and 95% of students respectively obtaining grades A* to C. Geography and Urdu also did well, but results in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science were well below average. The results of the modular exams already taken in mathematics and science by the current Year 11 are encouraging. The majority of students in the targeted 'study plus' group in mathematics are making outstanding progress.
National test results at the end of Year 9 also improved in 2007 but remained below average. The school's own tracking data on individual students in English, mathematics and science shows that Year 9 are now making better progress in these subjects than in previous years.
Students who are at the early stages of learning English as an additional language and those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress. The school has set appropriately challenging targets for performance this year and students are making satisfactory progress towards them. However, the once a term cycle of assessments and review is insufficient to identify underachievement at an early stage by middle leaders. Provision for the large number of students needing support with literacy skills has improved recently but the legacy of weaknesses in handling English text continues to suppress standards and achievement.